Editorial: Shorten the leash on dog owners

Duane VanLanHam is a perfect example of how badness can bring out the goodness in a person.

Last week, the 48-year-old Buena Vista Township resident saw three pit bulls viciously mauling Bridgetta Hadley across the street outside her home in Saginaw. He ran to rescue his 42-year-old neighbor and friend.

That's when the dogs turned on him.

For his efforts, VanLanHam wound up in St. Mary's of Michigan hospital in fair condition with severely injured legs. But he did save Hadley, who was in good condition at Covenant Medical Center Cooper after surgeons worked on her for more than two hours.

Booker said VanLanHam was "the hero in all this," and he's absolutely right. How many people would disregard their own personal safety under such terrifying circumstances?

A couple things come to mind when contemplating the badness of it all.
First, there's the owners' animal cruelty -- although it's difficult to hold the pit bulls blameless when they're bred to do what they did. People who say their pit wouldn't harm anyone are taking you for a fool.

Second, initial reports indicated a 53-year-old Buena Vista woman who witnessed the unfortunate drama unfold said police should have shot all three dogs. She also asked The Saginaw News not to identify her because she feared retribution.

Retribution? For expressing an opinion about a violent nearby event? Has it come to that at 23rd and Perkins?

Apparently her fears are not unfounded. She says the dogs came from the Buena Vista side of the street, and that their 18- or 19-year-old owners trained them to fight in backyard matches. That alone is against the law and is indicative of intimidating, bloodthirsty and far less-than-neighborly neighbors.

And besides, Booker is calling the follow-up a criminal investigation.

BV has an ordinance for vicious dogs such as pits and Rottweilers. Their owners must display warning signs, have $50,000 in liability insurance and have a kennel. Booker said the owners violated every part of the ordinance and face a $500 fine or 90 days in jail.

Booker is also right to not let this incident lie. He immediately issued a canine crackdown, and police are going around the township to see if other owners are complying with the ordinance.

This bit of preventive maintenance is a good idea because, as the fearful witness said, "If those were children out there, they'd be dead. The dogs would have torn them up."
One last note: Saginaw has no vicious dog ordinance. It had one, but with cages full at the Animal Care Center and budget cutbacks there, the city couldn't afford its own facility to keep impounded animals.

With what happened to VanLanHam and Hadley, though, maybe it's time to revisit this one.